Journey away from smartphones

This series started with the realization that smartphones were fragmenting my attention span, so I abandoned my smartphone for six weeks. During that time, I rediscovered books and reading. I did return to my smartphone because disconnecting from it also meant disconnecting from family communication, but I continued reading and making more space in my life to consume more of the content offline, rather than the social media feeds on my smartphone.

As I explored ways to regain my attention span, I explored theories about focus, flow, and productivity. This all led me on a journey that helped unlock more productivity and peace of mind.

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Sections:

• 1. My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
• 2. My initial rules and reasons for intentional smart phone use
• 3. First experiences in moving away from smartphones
• 4. More developments on my journey away from smartphones –- a sudden interest in classical music?
• 5. One month in without a smartphone — growing doubts about the value of technology in general
• 6. Review of What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains: The Shallows, by Nicholas Carr
• 7. Six weeks in -- returning to smartphone (but not as before)
• 8. Random notes on recovering the lost art of reading
• 9. Wayfinding -- finding my way without GPS
• 10. Wayfinding requires you to be present in the world
• 11. Spatial and scientific reasoning from wayfinding
• 12. Driving without GPS -- the desire to be free and in control
• 13. From smartphones to Netflix: moving past plateaus in growth
• 14. Techniques for deep work from Cal Newport
• 15. How to move from focus sessions to flow sessions
• 16. Applying Csikszentmihalyi's psychology of Flow while writing technical documentation
• 17. From monkey mind to calm, ordered consciousness?
• 18. What the DMN and TPN modes of the brain teach us about focus
• 19. The diametric pull towards tech and wildness
• 20. Conclusion and takeaways
• References